Q&A: Cheryl Hines on Suburgatory and Being 'Cheryl'

As Larry David's wife (now former) on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Cheryl David, Cheryl Hines gave new meaning to "long-suffering." Not that her new job on ABC's Suburgatory, which returns Wednesday night, is much easier. She plays Dallas Royce, a bouffant-ed Southerner in unrequited love with Jeremy Sisto. We talked to Hines about the new gig and the career skills she picked up on Larry David's set.

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ESQUIRE.COM: You came out of the Groundlings, which also produced Jim Rash, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig. When you were there, did you think it would lead to something big?

CHERYL HINES: Yes, but only because of the people I was working with. I knew that if I spent time with them, and watched and learned from them, it could only help me. I was watching, you know, Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri and Chris Kattan perform. And Lisa Kudrow was my teacher.

ESQ: Where were you shooting for?

CH: I always wanted to audition for SNL.

ESQ: Did you?

CH: No, I never did. I got Curb Your Enthusiasm right before I got into the main company at the Groundlings, so my path had already turned in a different direction.

ESQ: Well, it seems like things have turned out okay for you.

CH: Yeah, I have no regrets. I think things have turned out just fine.

ESQ: It must be fun to play someone wilder after being the strait-and-narrow woman on Curb.

CH: It is fun. The things the writers have me doing on Suburgatory are insane. I think they think it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

CH: My mom and my dad are very Southern. It's funny to be able to play a Southern character. It's kinda sweet.

ESQ: Have you borrowed anything from them for the role?

CH: Definitely the way my mom talks. And she likes things to be glittery and shiny — any excuse to wear body glitter, and she's on it. When I was on Curb, I would talk to her after an episode would air, and she would say, "I just did not think you looked that nice. I keep waiting for them to give your character a makeover." And I said, "I think you're missing the point of the show."

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ESQ: You look great on Suburgatory.

CH: I'll read the script, and it'll say, "Dallas and Dalia are in their bikinis." "What? In our bikinis? Why?" So, yeah, I try to watch what I eat. When I can.

ESQ: You wore a bikini on Curb.

CH: Once! This is like every episode I'm in a bikini.

ESQ: Where do people approach you in public?

CH: If I go through airports, some place where there are a lot of people and it's a mixed crowd, I usually get four or five people. They usually just say "I love the show" or "I like you."

ESQ: "I like you"?

CH: Yeah. It is weird. People will say, "Oh my God, I love you." And I'll say, "Oh, that's so sweet. Thank you." And the people who are walking around with me for the first time will say, "I don't understand what happened. Somebody just told you they love you. I don't even understand what that means."

ESQ: You're dating Robert Kennedy, Jr. It's almost a waste that he's not in politics because you got so much time being patient on Curb, I bet you'd be the perfect politician's wife.

CH: You're probably right. Although I would go a little stir-crazy with all of the events and hand-shaking.

ESQ: Are you following the election?

CH: I've been watching the debates. I guess I'm following the election. I get maxed out at a certain point. I know what you want, and I know what you want, and I don't need to hear everyone list their points again.

ESQ: I want Suburgatory to have darker undertones.

CH: That would be interesting. What if we all think George is killing people and putting them in his freezer downstairs?

ESQ: In his gigantic freezer that people have for all their Lean Cuisines.

CH: Yes. For the Lean Cuisines. That's hilarious.

ESQ: Did you have that when you were a kid?

CH: Not Lean Cuisines. People would buy — this is so gross to think about now — but people would buy, like, half a cow. And then they would have it in their freezer. "Tonight is rump roast night."

ESQ: I thought you grew up in Miami.

CH: No. Well, I was born in Miami, and then I lived for a long time in Tallahassee, and before that Winter Haven, which is a tiny town in Florida. I was not a city girl.

ESQ:Suburgatory isn't necessarily a show directed at men. Why should they watch it?

CH: Perhaps at first glance you might think, Oh, it's about teenagers? But when you watch it, it's different. There's a bite to it. And this is terrible, and I can't believe it actually made it into the show, and I'm sure I'm going to get in trouble for it, but, in one of the episodes, my character's talking about how she didn't know what to be for Halloween and says, "And then it hit me, like Chris Brown."

ESQ: And there's you in a lot of stretch fabric.

CH: Oh, yeah, and lots of bikinis, and everyday clothes are like a micro-mini skirt. There's a lot of cleavage. We'll say that.

ESQ: That's the pull quote: "There's a lot of cleavage."

CH: Yeah, maybe we should start with "a lot of cleavage" and end with "it's very clever."

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